Rocking stool



Feb. 11, 1958 A. J.-PARENT ROCKING STOOL Filed Jan. 7, 1955 hll H v f w wk/274.1. fl mf peak! 1% 01%? United States Patent ROCKING STOOL Adelard J. Parent, South Berwick, Maine Application January 7, 1955, Serial No. 480,311

1 Claim. (Cl. 155165) This invention relates generally to furniture and more particularly to a stool whose upper portion is adapted for movement relative to its lower or stationary portion. Although the restful :and relaxing feeling which accompaniesrocking is well known, provided of course that the rocking motion is not excessive, there has not existed previously so far as I know, a stool which not only supports the feet of a seated person at the most desirable height but also permits the person to rock his feet back and forth relatively freely. Such a stool would be ideally suited for use with a rocking chair, for example, or for that matter with any chair of the type wherein either the seat or back portions are moveable. In addition, it could be used in conjunction with a stationary chair to permit at least a partial rocking motion of the body if desired.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a stool comprised of two portions, a base portion and a rest portion, the latter being adapted for restrained movement in a substantially horizontal plane relative to the former.

It is another object of this invention to provide a stool of the above described type wherein the rest portion, may be locked in place directly above the base portion, converting the stool into a unified stationary structure which gives the appearance of a conventional stool.

The novel features of this invention together with further objects and advantages thereof will become more readily apparent when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the rocking stool according to this invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 wherein like elements are designated by the same reference characters, it will be observed that the rocking stool of this invention comprises, in the main, a base portion 11 provided with four legs 12 on Which is mounted a rest portion 13. Legs 12 may be affixed to base portion 11 in any convenient manner such as with dowels, not shown. Base portion 11 is formed with a frame of wood or some other suitable material and is shaped like a rectangular box open at the top and bottom. At the lower corners of frame 10 there are provided triangular reinforcing blocks 22 and projecting inwardly from the longer sides of frame 10 at the top thereof, are opposing horizontal members 23 extending between the shorter sides. There is also provided an attractive covering 24 such as plastic fabric, for example, for the outer sides of frame 10, the bottom thereof being enclosed by a cover 25. Cover 25 may be composed of cardboard and is stapled to the bottom edges of the base portion.

Rest portion 13 is made up of members 14 which are joined at right angles to one another so as to provide a rectangular frame. As the drawings indicate, rest portion 13 is dimensioned to correspond in horizontal outiii) 2,822,861 Patented Feb. 11, 1958 line to the outline of base portion 11 so that when rest portion 13 is positioned directly above base portion 11, the appearance given will be one of a conventional stool. More specifically, restrportion 13 in addition to frame members 14, includes a plane member 26 overlying the frame members 14 to support suitable padding 27 such as hair felt. The whole is covered with a sheet of fabric 28 which may be tacked to the underside of frame members 14, the fabric covering 23 preferably corresponding inappearance to covering 24 for base portion 11.

Rest portion 13 is supported above base portion '11 with its undersurface closely adjacent the top surface of base portion 11 by meansof two sets of. levers '15 and 2% Each of the first set of levers 15 is pivotally connected to one of the reinforcing blocks 22 for movement in planes parallel and adjacent the respective shorter sides of frame 10. To thisyend, :reinforcing blocks 22 :are grooved as shown, and apertured to receive locking pins ice .29 which-are passed 'intothe apertures and through v:openings at the ends of levers 15 provided for this purpose. The upper ends of levers 15 are, in turn, pivotally connected to the respective frame members 14 forming the shorter sides of rest portion 13. As in the case of reinforcing blocks 22, these frame members 14 are grooved to receive the upper ends of levers 15 which are held by locking pins 30. The other or second set of levers 20 are similarly attached to the remaining reinforcing blocks 22 at their lower ends and to members 14 at their upper ends in parallel spaced relation like levers 15. As illustrated in Fig. 2 the individual ones of levers 15 are tied together by means of a rod 31 as are the levers 20.

Connected between one of the longer frame members 14 of rest portion 13 and horizontal member 23 towards the side of base portion 11 opposite thereto is a tension spring 32 as best shown in Fig. 3. A second such spring 33 extends from the other longer frame member 14 over to the opposite horizontal member 23. Each of the springs 32 and 33 may be attached in any convenient manner as with screw eyes 34. Finally, there is provided a crank 17 extending horizontally from one side of frame 10 to other and including handle portions 18 projecting through openings in bottom cover 25. Connected to crank 17 are two crank arms 36, which are in turn attached to a locking pin 37. Looking pin 37 is constrained to move vertically by means of apertured guide blocks 38 (Fig. 3) joined to opposite sides of frame 10, and directly above the apertures in blocks 38, frame members 14 are apertured also.

In operation, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that with locking pins 37 disengaged from members 14, levers 15 and 20 permit rest portion 13 to be moved back and forth in a substantially horizontal plane while base portion 11 remains stationary. Such movement is partially restrained, however, by means of springs 32, 33 and moreover in the absence of any external forces on rest portion 13, springs 32, 33 return rest portion 13 to a centered position above base portion 11 giving the appearance of a single unified structure. If, on the other hand, it is desired to fix the position rest portion 13, this may be readily accomplished by rotating a handle portion 18 of crank 17, thereby raising locking pins 37 into engagement with members 14. In this way the stool according to this invention can be made to serve as a conventional type of stool as the occasion may warrant. From the foregoing it follows that various modifications of the preferred embodiment illustrated are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Therefore my invention should be deemed to be limited not to the precise embodiment illustrated but only by the scope of the appended claim following.

What is claimed is:

A rocking stool comprising a base portion formed in the shape of a substantially rectangular box having long and short pairs of sides; a leg at each corner of said base portion for the support thereof; a rest portion having substantially the same transverse dimensions as said base portion, said rest portion including an apertured member; a first pair of levers each being pivotally connected at one of its ends to said rest portion and at the other of its ends to said base portion, said first pair of levers being movable in planes parallel and closely adjacent to the short sides of said base portion; a second pair of levers each being pivotally connected at one of its ends to said rest portion and at the other of its ends to said base portion, said second pair of levers being movable in substantially the same planes as said first pair of levers, said levers in combination supporting said rest portion entirely above said base portion with its lower surface closely adjacent the upper surface of said base portion, and permitting said rest portion to move back and forth in a substantially horizontal plane with said base portion remaining stationary; a pair of springs connected between said rest portion and the long sides of said base portion to exert substantially equal and opposite forces on said rest portion thereby to return the latter to a centered position above said base portion absent external forces 'on said rest portion; a crank member held between the sides of said base portion with its axis substantially horizontal, said crank including a handle portion projecting below the bottom of said base portion; a crank arm attached to said crank; a locking pin pivotally connected to said crank arm; and means affixed to said base portion constraining said pin to move vertically, said pin being aligned with the aperture in said apertured member when said rest portion is centered above said base portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 39,652 Holden Aug. 25, 1863 454,276 Iorgensen June 16, 1891 736,886 Smith Aug. 18, 1903 1,716,316 Lanning June 4, 1929 1,827,627 Travis Oct. 13, 1931 2,534,499 Burden Dec. 19, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 796,747 Canada Oct. 13, 1953 

